A Shot In The Night
by MrsJasperHale69
Summary: When Charlie gets injured on the job, how will Bella cope? And how will Edward help her through the hardest time of her life? Lemonicious and BxE pairing. Don't like it? Don't read it!
1. Bad News

**I'll repeat this because it makes people happy: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING (story-wise, of course), and I never have and sadly there is a high possibility that I never will. I just have fun with it. Please enjoy and REVIEW because it'll get you on Santa's good list!**

**This is going to be 3 chapters and this is going to be the only authors note in the entire thing because I don't feel like editing the whole thingy on Document Manager. **

**So here we go: this story has lemons (surprise surprise) so don't expect a lovely fluffy walk in the park. Some people might find bits of this story offensive or upsetting or uncomfortable or odd. **

**Please enjoy and REVIEW!**

**~MrsJasperHale69**

*Knock knock knock.*

"Bella!"

The sound of Edwards voice was music to my ears so late at night. Charlie had left for work about two hours ago, because there had been a robbery at a local petrol station which left me all alone once more, to slowly sink into insanity as the minutes ticked by on the clock. And after working a double shift at Newtons, insanity was definitely a possibility.

But God was working a miracle in the name of Edward, tonight.

He knocked again, louder, almost impatiently.

"I'm coming! Patience is a virtue, my dear!" I chided teasingly, as I skipped excitedly towards the front door, throwing it open into the dark night.

Edward was standing on the front porch, looking as beautiful as ever in the moonlight. His hair was slightly askew from the strong wind, but it made him look all the more adorable. He grinned goofily at me as he stepped into the only marginally warmer hallway and wrapped his arms around me. As much as I loved him holding me, his cold touch combined with the harsh wind had me shivering uncontrollably.

He recoiled slightly, looking upset with himself.

"Right. Sorry, Bella," he mumbled as I took his hand and pulled him into the toasty warmth of the kitchen. The heater was turned up to the maximum in an attempt to battle against the unusually low temperature drop in Forks.

But I didn't want to think about the temperature right now, not when I had an irresistible vampire in the same room as me. I stood up on my tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips, sighing when he returned it with a little more passion. My squeal was muffled into his mouth when he suddenly picked me up, setting me on the counter top so that I could wrap my legs comfortably around his waist, our lips never parting.

I fumbled with the top button of his shirt, loving the way he growled softly into my mouth when my fingers brushed his icy skin. The next thing I knew, I wasn't sitting anymore. Edward had pulled me from the counter and with one swipe of his arm, the kitchen table was cleared. It was a good thing – I thought to myself – that I had finally convinced Charlie to buy a bigger table. If he hadn't then this rendezvous would be extremely uncomfortable and possibly life-threatening with my luck.

My back hit the wood, making me arch upwards and into Edward. I felt the buttons on my work shirt separate under his nimble fingers, and I twisted my fingers on his hair. I decided right then and there that making love in the same place that I ate my dinner had never sounded better. Somewhere in the back of my frazzled mind, I heard the phone ring at the same time that his hands travelled sneakily up my sides to teasingly brush the underside of my breast. Two guesses which one I was paying attention to. I felt Edwards lips leave mine momentarily and I groaned inwardly.

"You should get that," he murmured into the skin of my neck to which he was now ravishing with feather-light kisses.

"No. Want you," I answered. His attentions were causing my civilized brain to slowly morph back into its stone-age form. I felt rather than heard his baritone laugh rumbling against my pulse point, causing desire to wash throughout my body and I almost slapped him (if I didn't already know what that would do to my palm) when he pulled completely away from me and glanced pointedly at the phone.

"Fine!" I huffed as I slid ungracefully off of the table and grabbed it.

"What?" I asked rather rudely, expecting it to be Charlie. It wasn't. It was Anthony, one of Charlie's friends at the station.

"Bella? Bella, is that you?" he was asking in his distinct husky voice.

"Yes, it's me. What's the problem?" I replied quickly, wondering why on earth a friend of Charlie's would ever feel the need to call the house.

"It's your Dad. He was in an accident. He was shot at the robbery about an hour ago. I'm so sorry."

My blood froze, and so did Edward (who was now standing behind me), as he buried his face in the crook of my neck to listen to my conversation.

"He's... he's dead?" I whispered.

"What? Dead? Oh God, no! He's just in hospital. I'm with him now. Well... it is serious, but nothing the doctors can't handle," he added.

I still wasn't 100% trusting of Anthony's reassurance and Edward seemed to sense that much as he gently pried the phone away from my cold fingers.

"Hello, Officer Klein. Uh huh... yes... which one is that? ... What time? ...Would you like us to come over? ...sure...I understand...I will... okay then... thank you,"

As he hung the phone back on the hook I stood there, dumbstruck, as I waited for him to tell me the news.

"Charlie was shot by one of the robbers when he entered through the back door of the store. He's in a serious but stable condition. Carlisle is his doctor, so I have high hopes that he'll be okay. They don't want us to come over yet because he's in surgery and either way he's a bit on the... messy side," he paused to shoot me an ironic look.

"Where was he shot?" I asked, my voice sounding hollow.

He gently placed his finger on my chest, only just above the pummelling of my heart.

"The bullet missed his heart and the surrounding arteries by millimetres. He's really lucky, Bella," he breathed gently.

And then the tears came.

"B-but how c-could this happen to Ch-Charlie?" I cried as I felt his arms encircle my waist, pulling me into the safety of his arms. I buried my face in his shoulder, letting my salty tears ruin what was undoubtedly a very expensive shirt. I just let myself inhale the sweet scent of him, so that maybe it would stop those dreadful tears leaking from my eyes. I felt him lift me up so that he was cradling me like a child and begin to walk upstairs towards my bedroom, murmuring soothing words to me as he did.

"It's all going to be okay. I'd trust Carlisle with anything, you know that. Charlie will be okay in the end," he whispered as he gently set me down on my bed and curled up next to me, pulling me close to his chest.

"I trust Carlisle. But what if h-he doesn't m-make it?" I managed to choke out as he began so slowly rock me against him.

He was quiet and I knew what he was thinking about.

"Carlisle will sort it out, Bella. You don't need to worry about that right now."

And I knew deep inside what he mean when he said that Carlisle would sort it out. He meant that if Charlie had no way of surviving, then Carlisle would do what he did with Edward, and Esme, and Rosalie and Emmett. He would turn Charlie into one of them. A vampire.

I shuddered suddenly, and he grimaced.

"Do you want a shower?" he asked, changing the subject. I barely had the strength to nod.

I was undressed and under the steaming hot jet of water within a few seconds. I didn't have the time nor the patience to dawdle, so I had never been more grateful for his impossible speed. Feeling the water pummelling against my cold skin made me close my eyes for a moment – just to relax in this one moment of peace. I was almost surprised to find that Edward wasn't in the shower with me. I could see his silhouette through the thin material of the shower curtain. He was sitting on the bathroom counter, looking politely away from the shower curtain. I knew he was ready to pounce and catch me if I fell, and the idea that he'd rescue me was the most reassuring news I'd heard today.

"Edward," I croaked. The tears had made my throat dry but I knew he would be able to hear even if I whispered.

"Yes, Bella," his perfect voice replied.

"If anything happens to Charlie – I... I..." I broke off, trying to think about what I was going to say before I said anything stupid. I didn't want to sound selfish, but I had to get this off of my chest.

"If anything happens to Charlie, then... Mom won't want me to stay here by myself. She'll want me in... s-s-sunny C-California with Ph-Phil!" I managed to choke out before I was crying again.

The next thing I knew, Edwards cold arms were wrapped around me. I immediately relaxed back into them, leaning against his chest, and let myself be overcome with my miseries. He was the only thing that was holding me up. I heard him whispering in my ear, humming my lullaby and telling me that it would all be okay. It seemed hours before I had calmed down enough to support my own weight.

"Bella, you know that nothing will happen to Charlie. And do you really think that moving to sunny California will keep me away from you? If the Volturi can't, then what chance do some pathetic rays of sunlight have?" he murmured into my neck.

How stupid must grief make one person. Of course no amount of distance would keep us from being together. We were Romeo and Juliet, even if Edward sometimes referred to our love story as Beauty and the Beast.

That night, I fell asleep in his arms once more. But as I lay there, sleep creeping into the corners of my mind, I just concentrated on the feel of Edward next to me. I felt how one of his arms was around my waist, and the other my chest – feeling my heartbeat. I felt how snug against him I was, and how I could feel his faint breathing against the nape of my neck. And for the first time, I didn't notice the coldness in his touch. I felt only the warmth that used to be there all those years ago.

And with that thought, and Edward's arms protecting me from the world, I drifted off to sleep.


	2. Plan of Action

EPOV

I lay there that night and watched Bella sleep. She was curled up against me, her chest expanding gently as she breathed. I was thankful for a moment that I didn't share the same gift as Jasper. For I was sure that if I could feel her emotions - her love for me, her fear and anguish for Charlie, and her anxiety about what the next day would bring – I would explode. I could hardly bear to imagine all of the feelings bottled up inside her fragile human body. The thought of it just made me pull her closer, revelling in the feel of her steady heartbeat under my hand.

I had always found the simple act of sleeping so beautiful, perhaps as I could no longer do it myself. Sometimes life as a vampire was so tiring that I would do anything to be able to escape for a few hours.

Bella mumbled softly in her sleep, wriggling up against me and sighing. I wondered if she was dreaming. Or having a nightmare. I buried my head in her hair, inhaling the intoxicating bouquet. I let my eyes close of their own accord at the overwhelming perfume of her skin and her hair. I knew that I couldn't protect this beautiful creature from everything in the world, but I would bet on the fact that I could keep her safe from quite a lot of it.

I could fight off ravenous vampires until the sun came up... but I couldn't cure her father. I could only place that trust in one man's hands. But even Carlisle wasn't a miracle worker. He didn't have any magical spell to chant or potions to brew. He could only do his best with the same equipment that failed to save millions of other lives every other day.

The pulsing of my phone in my pocket jolted me out of my thoughts.

I swiftly located it, sliding it open. The caller ID alerted me that it was Alice's phone that was ringing mine.

"What's the news?" I greeted her, stiffening against Bella in preparation of anything bad.

"Well hello to you, to, Edward!" she huffed, sounding so truly pissed off that I immediately relaxed. Alice was not so arrogant as to put proper manners and etiquette before life and death.

"Sorry, Alice. Hello," I replied, lowering my voice an octave so as not to wake Bella.

"That's much better."

"Where are you?"

"The hospital, duh!" she exclaimed, and I heard Rosalie scoff behind her. "We're all here, actually. Well, all of us apart from Jas because it's the Intensive Care Unit, and I didn't trust him enough to let him come. I think he's in visiting neonates actually. He soothes the babies to sleep," she added.

"That's great. Well, how's Charlie?" I questioned.

"Charlie? Oh, yeah, Charlie. Well I'm just waiting for Carlisle to finish his shift so I can ask him. But he looks okay. A little blue, perhaps, but his heartbeat's strong. Those heart monitors are a little wrong though. They are off the beat by about 1 millionth of a millisecond, did you know?"

"I do now, Alice. When's Carlisle finishing?" I asked a little impatiently. I loved Alice dearly, but hearing her chatter on nervously was doing nothing for my buzzing head.

"He's finishing in about... oh, he's here. Do you want to talk to h-" she was cut off as Carlisle's deep voice replaced her shrill one.

"Edward? How's Bella coping?" he asked, speaking so quickly that no surrounding humans could easily hear.

"Bella's... overwhelmed. But how is Charlie doing?" I asked, getting back on topic.

"Charlie is in a serious condition, Edward. He did, however, manage to pull through the surgery quite well which improves the chance of a quicker recovery. But either way, he's going to be unconscious and breathing through intubation for the next few days at least until we can manage to drain some of the blood from his lungs. But if Bella would like to come up and see him, then I can arrange that with the staff," he finished, sounding appropriately solemn.

"I think that's what she wants. I'll ask her when she wakes up, and we'll be there by eleven o'clock if she says yes, okay?"

"That's fine, Edward. Give her my best. See you later."

The phone went dead. I listened to the dial tone for a moment, until it was in time to the beating of my Bella's heart. She stirred slowly as she awoke, her eyes opening slowly as she adjusted to the light coming in through the window.

"Edward?" she asked sleepily, her hand searching for me. I took it between mine and kissed her palm.

"Good morning, Bella."

"What... how's Charlie?" she asked, her voice husky from sleep. "I heard you talking... on the phone," she mumbled as she snuggled back up to my side, pulling my arm over her to place it on her waist.

"Charlie's out of surgery, love. Carlisle was just saying that he's going to be kept unconscious for the next few days so that they can keep tabs on his recovery. Also, Carlisle asked if you wanted to go and see him today."

"That'd be okay?" she asked, yawning quietly. I smiled and kissed her forehead gently.

"Yes. So do you want to go?"

"Mm hm. Thank you, for everything. I love you," she whispered, tilting her head towards me so that I could place a soft kiss on her lips.

"I love you, too. I'm going to run home and get a change of clothes. Are you alright to get showered? I'll be back at 10.30 to pick you up."

She nodded drowsily as she slowly rose up to climb out of bed and shuffle over to her wardrobe to grab some clothes for the day. Nodding to myself, assuring myself that she was okay, I hoisted myself noiselessly onto her windowsill and launched out into the brightening sky.

The second we entered the doors to ICU, we were surrounded by the others. Rosalie was standing with her arm through Emmett's, with her beautiful, emotionless face turning the heads of every visitor and doctor that entered or exited through those doors. Esme was wringing her hands nervously, her head bowed as she sat in one of those uncomfortable plastic hospital chairs. Alice was reclining against the wall next to Esme, her tiny hands over Jasper's. She seemed to be whispering soothing words to him, and there was no doubt as to why this would be necessary. It amazed me that Alice had finally allowed Jasper in to the ICU, especially since there were more than a few visible blood bags hanging by the beds of the patients.

My hesitation seemed to cause his eyes to flitter nervously towards the nearest patient – a young girl who was covered from head to toe in bandages with a fresh bag of blood suspended over her head. But Alice reached up to place her hand on his face, and slowly drew his attention back to her. It was a possibility that Alice had only brought Jasper here so that he could calm Bella if she became too overwhelmed by her emotions.

"Bella!" Esme cried as the double doors closed silently behind us. Rosalie began pacing, dragging Emmett along with her.

"You're all here!" Bella replied, shocked.

"Of course we are! We're all family, aren't we? We're waiting to see how Charlie's doing, too," she explained. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alice straighten up, before pulling a very reluctant Jasper to her side. She skipped over, tugging on his arm like a child might pull along an oversized teddy bear.

"Oh, Bella. Are you alright?" she asked, her voice appropriately soft and chime-like, as she wrapped her arms around Bella. Jasper pulled his arm out of her grasp just in time. He stood behind her, a sour expression on his face as he tried to concentrate on the linoleum floor – but I heard his every thought.

_There's blood. It's everywhere. It smells so good. I wonder if it'd taste as good as I remember it to be? No, I can't do that to Alice. I love Alice. No. I can't do it. I mustn't. But it smells so good. NO! Stop that! Think of what Alice would do! I mustn't. I shouldn't. I won't. But what if I do?_

As he continued his silent war with himself, his brow furrowed and his shoulders hunched. I knew that if he could have it his way he'd leap across the room and easily drain every single blood bag, patient, and staff member in this room without a second thought. But when his eyes connected with Alice's, as she stepped away from Bella and took his hand in hers once more, his thoughts changed.

_What was I thinking? Was I crazy? Of course I won't do that. Alice is all I'll ever need. I don't need human blood. I don't need it, and I don't want it. I only want Alice._

I smiled to myself. With Alice by his side, I doubted that he'd do anything so dangerous. Especially since Alice would have most probably foreseen it. I heard a door at the end of the ward slam shut and the rhythmic clicking of Carlisle's shoes on the tiles as he walked briskly over to us. I could literally feel Bella's anxiety raise a few extra notches as her breath hitched. I unconsciously squeezed her arm, trying to be as reassuring as I could in the circumstances.

"Good morning, Bella," he greeted politely, nodding to each of his family in turn.

"Is he going to live?" Bella squeaked, her voice breaking. Carlisle's usually expressionless face broke into a friendly smile.

"Most certainly, Bella. He's just going to take some time to recover, that's all. But there is no doubt in my mind that he will make a full recovery and be back on the job within four months at the months. We hope he'll be at home within the next month or so."

She exhaled deeply in relief, her tired body leaning against mine.

"Would you like to see him?" he prompted, gesturing to one of the beds on the left that had the curtains drawn around it. She barely nodded. Clinging to me, we slowly began to walk over to the last bed. Carlisle pulled open the curtain enough so that only we could squeeze through, and the second she caught sight of her father, I sensed rather than smelt her tears starting again. I didn't blame her.

I had never once imagined that so many tubes could be attached to one human body. There certainly didn't seem to be enough room in Charlie's case. Every part of him that was uncovered by the stiff white hospital blanket was attached to a machine or monitor of some kind. There was a high pitched pipping sound of the heart monitor, and the whooshing of air coming from the breathing apparatus. Carlisle began taking his vitals, spouting off numbers and readings to a nurse who scribbled them down on a clipboard and tutted every now and then. Then they left, and it was just us.

We stayed there until the sun started to creep down, a dim orange glow illuminating the gloomy Fork's sky. Bella was sitting in the chair next to mine, her head resting on my shoulder as we sat in companionable silence, listening to the blipping of the monitors and the hushed voices of the nurses as they bustled around with their clipboards and pagers. I hadn't taken my eyes off of Bella the entire time, always wary of her emotions. She seemed as if she was trying to hold it in – trying to be brave for me. When it was finally time to go, I didn't have the heart to tell her we had to leave. She seemed to notice my frantic glances at the clock, as she finally lifted her head from my shoulders and I noticed the glistening of her ongoing tears streaked across her porcelain face.

"He's... s-so... pale," she exclaimed, her voice cracking as she tried to speak clearly through her tears. I pulled her close to me, cradling her body against mine as she sobbed violently. I couldn't do anything except hold her, tell her that I loved her, and that everything was going to be alright.

And then I caught sight of the bag of blood that had drained from Charlie's lungs, and I almost crushed her. There was so much of it, it seemed impossible that there had been that much blood in his body to begin with. My throat burned – but not with hunger – with fury, blind fury at the bastards who did this to him, the gutless rats who could shoot a man and run away, a monster who could do this to a human being and not care if he lived or died. In hurting Charlie, they had hurt my Bella.

And nobody hurt my Bella.

I had run from the hospital at that moment. I must have absently given Bella some lame excuse, but I promised that I'd meet her tonight. I'd told her I'd had some unfinished business to attend to, and if she knew what I was about to do then she didn't attempt to change my mind. I didn't need to be a tracker to find that scent. It had lingered on Charlie, and it was not far away. I ran as fast as I could, the town a blur around me. I finally stopped at a bar called The Tambourine Lodge. The scent was so overpowering it blocked out all of the thoughts from the other people in there. My senses were focused directly on one man.

The bar was busy as I opened the door, and it was hard to remain human-like as I fought my way towards the scent that I needed to find. The scent that had to pay for their sins tonight. My nose zeroed in on a lanky boy, only 19 at the most, who was sitting on a barstool with a dozen finished bottles of beer in front of him. He squinted as he took in my appearance. He was blind drunk, but that would make my job all the more easier to complete, and easier to get away with. How many drunks died every night around this part of town? A few a week, I'd guess.

He seemed unsure as I approached him, my hands in my pocket.

"What's your name?" I asked him, my voice gruff and unrecognizable. His eyes widened as they focused on my face. I knew what I must look like. I knew that my pupils were dilated, my eyes were so black it seemed unnatural, and that my upper lip was curling menacingly. It took sheer willpower to stop myself from pouncing on him, ripping his throat out and – if necessary – killing every soul in this bar to be on the safe side. I couldn't let Carlisle find out about this, but his intuition meant that sooner or later he probably would.

"What's it to ya?" he scoffed, sneering at me although his eyes remained wary of mine. "It depends what 'chu want, pretty boy. You wan drugs? I got 'em. You wan smokes? Alcohol? I got 'em. You wan... some pretty lil' girls? I got some of 'em, too, mister." He gave a sleazy smile at his last offer. If it were possible, then my blood would be boiling. I tried, as humanely as possible, to grab his shirt collar and began to pull him towards the doors. A few of the men cheered. To them, this was another routine bar fight that was to be taken outside.

"Hey! Wha' the fuck do you think you're doin'?" he exclaimed as I shoved him off the front steps of the bar and onto the road. The cheers behind us reminded me of our company. Spinning around, I advanced, my sudden movements making them back up into the bar. Within two seconds I had barricaded the door with a wooden bench situated outside, trapping the happy drinkers inside. They were so drunk that they didn't seem to notice because within moments they had turned their attention back to the bar when a girl had climbed on top of a table and was dancing to a song on the radio.

Looking over my shoulder, I laughed when I saw my victim trying to run off. He was stumbling on the gravel, falling to his knees every now and then before scrambling back up, looking nervously over his shoulder and jogging in a zig zag fashion over the road. Without effort, I was at his side. I grabbed his collar with one hand and lifted him above my head.

"You never told me your name," I said, keeping my voice calm.

"My name's Andrew, Andrew North! What the fuck's your problem, dude? Put me the fuck on the ground! You wanna fight? Coz I'll fight, pretty boy!" he threatened, but his voice was unsure. I laughed, a sound so low it sounded cruel. At least my efforts had sobered him up a little.

"We pretty-boys don't fight." I taunted, watching him squirm under my intense glare.

"What do you want? I told you, you can 'ave the drugs, the alcohol, you can 'ave the lil girls, too," his voice was softer, he was almost pleading.

"I don't want that. I want revenge. You hurt her, you hurt _my _girl. You can't do that and not...pay..." my voice was shaking now, and I could see nothing but red.

"What do you mean? You saying I fucked your girlfriend? Well I'd remember her. I always remember the tight ones..."

And those were Andrew North's last words.


	3. Whole Again

BPOV

As soon as I arrived home, I went about doing the chores I usually would do if Charlie was here. Alice and Jasper had brought me home, since Edward had left earlier. I originally thought that the sight of so much blood had made him hungry and he had to hunt before his thirst became too painful, but the strange expression on Alice's face as her eyes followed him walking swiftly out the door seemed to portray something different. I didn't care what he was doing, I didn't even have room in my cluttered mind to think about myself.

Slowly, I half-walked, half-crawled up the stairs. A hot shower was calling me, and I desperately wanted to sink down in my sheets and allow myself an escape for a few hours. I stood under the spray until it went cold, and I was satisfied that my tears had been washed away. Edward had promised he would see me tonight, and I could think of no better way to drift off to sleep then in his protective grip. It would be peaceful as long as he was holding me. I dressed absentmindedly in shorts and a camisole, realizing too late that it was not warm enough for that tonight.

Climbing into bed, I let my head hit the pillows and drifted off to sleep.

And awoke screaming when I felt freezing cold hands touch my waist.

"Shhh, it's only me love," Edward whispered into my ear, but he withdrew his hands from my skin instantly. I glanced at the clock. I had been sleeping for 3 hours.

"No, it's okay, I was just a bit shocked," I said softly. I reached around awkwardly to find his hand with my own.

"I'm cold, I get it," he smiled, but he made no move to touch me once more. I let out an impatient sigh.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," I replied, tugging on his hand until he had wrapped his arm once more around my waist. I felt him laugh and murmur something about me being stubborn. He should know better. I'd rather take being cold all night than being warm, especially if it was because of Edward's skin on mine.

"Where did you go?" I whispered, letting his fingers trace absentminded patterns on my collarbone. No reply. I sighed inwardly. I should have known better than to ask Edward about his secret vampire-business. He'd never tell me anyway. I was about to tell him not to worry about it when he finally did speak.

"I had to take care of some things," he said softly into my neck. I didn't need to ask to know what he had done. I wriggled over so that I was on my back, now able to look into his face as I asked my questions.

"What was his name?" I asked shakily, shivering from the thought of Edward coming face to face with the monster who shot my father.

"Andrew North. He's lucky he was so drunk, he probably didn't even feel anything," he almost growled, his hands curling into fists in my hair.

"But it's over now, right?" I asked, gently extracting his fingers from my mess of hair and linking my fingers with his.

"Yes, it's over now. He can't do it again. It's just us, now," he whispered as his mouth descended to mine. I sighed softly as I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him on top of me. He seemed to find my eagerness funny, as he broke off, laughing quietly.

"What?" I cried, exasperated.

"I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time I've requested some patience, love," he chided. I watched his eyes sparkle in the moonlight as he hovered over me. I reluctantly pulled my arms away from him, letting him roll off of me and pull me to him so that my head was resting on his chest. We were silent for a moment – both of us found words to be beyond our kind of relationship. My head was rising and falling in rhythm to his breathing, and I slowly inched his shirt up and began drawing abstract patterns on his stomach – his extremely toned stomach, may I add.

"Thank you," I whispered, my words muffled by his shirt. He slowly began stroking my hair, and I let my eyes drift close.

"For what?" he replied as if he didn't already know the answer.

"For... everything that you've ever done for me. For taking care of Andrew North, for protecting me and keeping me from danger, for loving me as unconditionally as I love you," I paused, thinking of my next sentence before I said it. "And for not killing me that first day in biology." I felt him tense under me, heard his breathing hitch at his hand moved down to my chin, tilting it up so that I was looking into his eyes.

"That was the best decision I've ever made... and the hardest. And to think that if I'd given in to my urges, we would have lost a lot of valuable time, wouldn't we?" he smirked, and I let my eyes wonder. I didn't need to remind him that he had given in to his urges, but at least it was with Andrew North and not me. I shuddered to think of what had become of the man who had shot my father.

Instead, I focused my mind on the attention I was paying to his stomach, slowly writing our names onto his skin with my fingertip until his hand snatched mine, holding it in a fist.

"Bella, stop doing that," he growled, I looked up in time to see his eyes glowing, darker than their usual colour. But it wasn't the hungry black that I had seen in his eyes so many times before, this times his eyes were a deep, rich gold. Lust.

"W-why?" I stammered, wondering if it were possible that I had hurt him in any way.

"It's just that... it's hardly the time, Bella," he muttered, pushing himself up so that he was sitting upright against the pillows and I was forced to lift my head off of his chest to avoid it falling into his lap. I wouldn't have minded in the least, but I sensed that this is why Edward has asked me to stop touching him.

And that's when I saw it. A very noticeable, very human, erection straining against the confines of his pants.

"Oh," I whispered. So this is the reason he had disrupted my calligraphy. I glanced a look at his face to see an expression that could only be of embarrassment etched upon his chiselled features.

"Sorry," he murmured. I had to mentally slap myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. What could he possibly be sorry for?

"Why are you sorry?" I managed to choke out.

"Because I can't help the way I react when you touch me. And I know that tonight is not a good time for this, so I'm sorry."

I knew that the look on my face must have been priceless. Edward apologizing for being turned on? This was definitely the first thing written in the 'Things Guys Never Say' handbook.

I reached out in the darkness and located one of his hands, holding it palm-to-palm with my own before placing it on the side of my face.

"And I can't help the way my body reacts to you, either." I whisper into the darkness. "Every time you touch me, my heart beats faster. I can feel my blood rushing through my veins, I can hear it too. I feel warm, even though your hands are cold. The icier your touch, the hotter I feel... I wish you'd never stop touching me."

He swallowed loudly, whether to clear his mouth of venom or in response to my words, I wasn't completely sure of.

"Tonight, I won't," he promised, his hand trailing down the side of my neck, over my shoulders, to rest in between my breasts. My eyes closed of their own accord. This was heaven. Without thinking, I leant forward so that our lips brushed together before giving up on the idea of suspense and letting him deepen the kiss, his other hand tangled in my hair as I leaned over to straddle him. His erection bumped enticingly against the place I wanted it most and I bit my lip to stifle a moan.

I trailed my hands to the collar of his shirt, fumbling with the buttons while trying not to break the kiss. Eventually his hands knocked mine out of the way as he ripped it open. I made a mental note to myself never to wear anything with buttons while Edward was around. We always ended up tearing something in the fits of our lust. In fact, why wear anything at all?

He seemed to guess my line of thought as his wandering hands had discarded of his own shirt and set to work on mine, pulling it up and over my head causing us to break apart for a second. His eyes met mine for a moment, his gaze was full of love, sadness, and desire. I quickly closed the space between our mouths, shifting slightly on top of him to get comfortable. This simple move once more made us grind together in the most pleasurable of fashions and I couldn't stop the moan from escaping me this time. His eyes widened as his hands trailed down my back, his lips now leaving a pathway of kisses all down my neck and back up again.

His fingers moved down to my hips, his cold touch making me jolt and rub myself against him again. Without warning, his thumbs slipped into the waistband of my shorts, gently caressing the skin there before with a loud rip my shorts were on the other side of the room. His hands began running up and down my thighs, before he rolled over, pinning me underneath his body. His hand returned to my hip, holding it still as he ground into me. I shuddered at the second of release it provided, and my entire body ached for more.

"Edward! M-more," I ground out as my body reached for him. At least his weight between my legs had lessened a little of my tension. I struggled to locate the button of his jeans, yanking on it with more force than necessary. It wasn't too stubborn, however, as it soon opened and gave me access to unzip them. Edward sighed, possibly with relief, as he shook them off. They hit the floor with a light thud.

He returned his attentions to my panties, gently tracing the waistband with his pinkie finger.

"Take them off!" I cried, wriggling impatiently against him. I heard him chuckle before he pulled them down my legs, careful not to ruin anything else I was wearing.

"We need to be more careful with our clothes," he stated, quite matter-of-factly.

"Shut up!" I squealed, pulled him back down to me. Needless to say, his boxers did not last long between the two of us. I could feel his kisses trailing from my neck, downwards. His hands had busied themselves by drawing intricate patterns on my own stomach, payback for earlier on I guessed. And when his tongue made contact with my nipple, I almost came apart.

He continued suckling gently on it, before grazing it with his teeth. I was over sensitized, every touch made me moan. I couldn't take this torture any longer. I needed Edward. All of him. Right now.

"E-Edward... need you..." I trailed off, unable to finish my sentence while I was being wracked with the sensations of his mouth on my body.

"Whatever you want, Bella."

Suddenly, I felt his grip on my ankles, pulling me down the bed towards him.

"I want..." I trailed off, wondering if he wanted me to be crude, or innocent.

He seemed to notice my obvious hesitation, and he repositioned himself on top of me, kissing me passionately before pulling away to look into my eyes once again. His hand had moved back down to my hips, and from his cloudy eyes something told me he didn't want innocent.

"What do you want?" he asked again, his eyes lighting up.

"I want you to fuck me."

My voice was quiet, shaky. I was suddenly terrified that even though it was my idea, what if it went wrong? What if this turned out to be a rerun of that terrible first night. And if it did turn out that way, I knew that it would be my fault. There would be nobody else to blame but me. I had talked him into this, and I hoped I'd get out in one piece.

He didn't seem to be foaming at the mouth or anything. In fact, he seemed to be quite calm.

"How would you like me to do that, my love," he asked, his voice smooth and more velvety than ever before. I felt a heat rush at his words.

"Hard," I replied without hesitation.

"Whatever my lady asks for, she shall receive," he finished, smiling in a most charming way down at me. I could barely nod before I was screaming.

In pleasure, not pain. His mouth silenced mine as he slid into me, all the way to the hilt.

He buried his face in my neck, inhaling my scent deeply as he let me adjust to his size. He lifted up my legs, hitching them around his waist before he began to move.

It didn't take much persuasion for me to be crying his name.

At first his thrusts were slow, calculated. He never tore his gaze from mine as he withdrew until only the tip of his cock was inside me before sliding back in until our pelvic bones bumped together. I was a little surprised that my body could accommodate every single inch of him, but the pure pleasure coursing through my veins did not leave much space for clear thought, and I decided to think about that later. It didn't matter how I was doing it, it just mattered that it was happening, and it was real, right now.

With each thrust, he was effortlessly hitting my g-spot, causing me to bite my lip to suppress a moan on instinct. Edward's eyes sparkled above me as he saw my attempts to stay quiet.

"Say it. Out loud," he ground out, increasing his tempo just enough to make me moan.

"Don't stop – please, oh God, Edward!" I yelped as my words caused him to sink into me, rotating his hips enough so that his pubic bone gently rubbed against my clit.

"Oh FUCK!" I cried out, unable to help myself.

"That's more like it. Scream for me, Bella," he growled. I instinctively grabbed onto one of the iron bars of my headboard to support myself as his pace increased substantially, our hips pistoning together uncontrollably.

"Ed-ward, don't s-stop, feels-" I was cut off when my whole body shook under his relentless movements. I felt his hands stimulating every inch of my skin – covering it with surprisingly gentle caresses as he continued to pound into me. I started whimpering, no audible words able to form in my fuzzy brain as I was driven into sensory overload. One of his hands had cupped my breast, squeezing it softly as his other hand had snaked under my hips and lifted me off the bed so that his thrusts were deeper, grazing against every single sensitive spot inside me.

I couldn't have talked dirty if it was a life or death situation. I couldn't even breathe at this moment. With each thrust we were pushed a little further to the edge of the precipice. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him, the look in his eyes as he moved above me. My hands let go of the bedpost and latched onto his shoulders as I felt my orgasm building and building in the pit of my stomach. His head bowed down until our foreheads were touching, and I could hear how his breathing was short.

"I love you, Bella. Come for me," he ground out.

And with that, I was over the edge. I let loose an unholy wail as I dug my nails into his shoulder blades. If it were any ordinary human, I would have torn gauges into their flesh. But Edward only seemed to find it erotic as he slammed into me one more time and growled through his release, burying his head in my neck once more as we came down from our high together.

I was purring. I had never thought of myself as a purring type. But that moment was just so appropriate that I couldn't help it. My body was still shaking from the aftershocks of what was possibly the most powerful orgasm I have ever felt. I unconsciously pulled Edward down to me, so that we were lying flush on top of each other. My legs were still clenched around his waist. I couldn't even feel them. I had the terrible thought that maybe I was paralysed. Maybe I had just snapped my spinal cord in the fits of our passion and not even realised it. But that was silly. I managed to wiggle the toes on my right foot and let my head hit the pillow with relief.

"What are you doing?" Edward whispered against my neck.

"Making sure I'm not paralysed. I can't feel my legs," I replied.

I heard his laugh, his breath tickling the sensitive hairs on my neck. He reached behind himself and slowly unwrapped my legs from around his waist. I mewed at the loss of contact that holding him tightly against me had provided. He kissed my cheek gently as he pulled out of me slowly, before rolling off to his side and pulling me against him, my head resting on his chest. I let my eyes close – not sleeping, just thinking. I was trying to clear my mind. And then it all came back to me. Charlie. Shot. The hospital. Seriously injured.

He was unconscious and breathing through tubes while I was having wild sex with my vampire boyfriend. That didn't seem right at all.

As if he could read my mind, he kissed the top of my head softly.

"Shh. It's going to be alright, Bella," he whispered softly, his velvety voice caressing my ears. And I believed him. With that thought, and the sweet sound of Edward humming my lullaby, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Within 3 weeks, Charlie was awake. I walked into his hospital room to find him sitting upright in bed, propped up on three big fat pillows and with the television remote on his bedside table. The moment he saw me, his drowsy eyes lit up in excitement.

"Bella! Baby, how have you been?" he asked, his voice noticeably less clear than usual.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that, Dad?" I quipped, perching on the bed comfortably and leaning over to kiss his forehead.

"Well I feel like a bloody science experiment, that's what. I've got all these bloody tubes sticking out of me and these people are running a whole shitload of unnecessary tests. Carlisle here is the only one I trust. Those nurses don't know what they are talking about! And the food is a disgrace! Isn't fit for rats, that food. Pea soup is more like dirty dishwater, and don't get me started on the Gourmet Specials. Tasteless waste of money, that's what I say! It can't be nutritional, surely!"

I let my mind wander as I feigned a concerned look at poor Charlie's complaining. I felt as if an invisible weigh had been lifted from my chest as I saw him sitting there looking a lot healthier than he had the day before. He was still weak, no doubt. His skin was still more pale than usual, and his eyes had a glazed expression in them. I knew that he was probably high on pain medication, but Edward assured me that all of the blood had been drained from his lungs and the internal bleeding had stopped. All that was left was some serious bruising which could be easily treated with pain medication. Carlisle stopped in to let me know that they were keeping Charlie in for another 2 days for observation and one more blood test and then he was being sent home for recovery.

My relief was enormous, and I leapt at Carlisle in such a fierce hug of gratitude that Charlie advised us to "get a room". It was then that I knew my good old dad was back.

The moment dad came home, I was busy twenty four hours a day. He had been given strict instructions set by Carlisle and supposedly enforced by me that he had to be resting in bed for at least 6 hours during the day. Then he was expected to be sleeping from ten o'clock at night to seven o'clock in the morning. Carlisle had advised I change his terribly unhealthy diet to something befitting the nutritional needs of a fifty-something police man who had just been treated for cardiac arrest – he told me that his heart had been through tremendous strain to withstand the pressure of the internal bleeding and bruising, and it needed to be treated well from this day forward, however to Charlie's dismay that included cutting out the fried eggs and bacon and sausages and including a whole lot of new and exotic fruits and vegetables that he did not even know how to pronounce. It took me fifteen minutes to convince him that eating the seeds of pumpkin and sunflowers was good for you and would not result in growing tiny versions of the plant inside of your stomach, despite what he had sworn to have read on the internet.

If it wasn't for Edward, I would not have survived. He often spent the entire day with me. He made breakfast, lunch and more often than not dinner, he cleaned up, and he kept me sane when Charlie was driving me up the wall. But his one rule was silence, as we both knew that Charlie would have a seizure if he knew that Edward was downstairs with me while he was stuck helplessly upstairs, unable to supervise us and keep us from engaging in terrible activities. If only he knew. At one point I even had to threaten handcuffing him to the bed if he tried to sneak downstairs to "monitor our situation", which was his term for a midnight fry-up.

Of course, the best part of having Edward staying over was the steamy make-out sessions during Charlie's nap time. It was a turn on to know that we were about 15 metres from being shot at with a handgun as we frolicked lustily on the couch. And the kitchen table. And at one point, on the staircase. I payed for that the next day. I suppose that putting up with Charlie for eleven hours of the day was more than worth it when I got to straddle Edward on the lounge room floor for the remaining time.

One particularly memorable afternoon I was reclining on the couch with Edward after banishing Charlie to his bedroom for his 6 hours of rest. Edward was lying behind me, his arm wrapped securely around my waist as usual, and his fingers tickling the sensitive skin of my stomach as I writhed with barely-contained laugher next to him.

"Hey, you hear that?" he whispered in my ear, making sure he lingered close to the sensitive skin of my neck longer than necessary.

Charlie's deep and resonating snores were vibrating in the air, originating from upstairs. I smiled inwardly. The best time of day. We didn't even need to mention it. Within seconds, his mouth had come down to meet mine, his tongue eager to delve into my mouth. It was only his mouth that muffled a moan that escaped me, unusual for me. I could usually contain my feelings. But today my body was over sensitised. The hand that was once so innocently tickling the skin of my tummy became stronger, digging into the skin in a massaging motion that had me undulating back against him, desperate for contact which I was gladly granted as he pulled me firmly back against his body, a delicious erection pressing enticingly against my backside. He felt it as I thrust back against his hips as he groaned deep in his throat, a gutsy sound that made my blood boil. I had never been so horny.

"Are you trying to kill me?" he whispered in my ear, his hand now reaching up to pull my t-shirt out of the way as it made contact with the soft material of my bra, greedily kneading my supple skin to a point of near-pain. I arched my back, surrendering myself to his hands as I lost the controlled part of my mind momentarily. Without realizing it, he had pulled me over on top of him, so that I was straddling his waist with his hand still planted firmly on my breast. He seemed to like it when I was on top. Sweet. This allowed for my part of the plan to work beautifully. His hands slid out of my top and moved to my thighs, sliding delicately upwards towards the hem of my skirt as his lips bruised mine. It was when he got to the top of my thighs and his hands found placement on my bare hips that he pulled away momentarily, in shock.

"Bella, where the fuck are your panties?" he growled in my ear, nipping at the lobe.

I can't believe Alice had talked me into this.

"Oops. I guess I forgot?" I replied in a voice which was slightly higher pitched than my own.

He arched his eyebrow. I almost lost my nerve.

"Well then I guess you deserve a punishment, don't you?" he grinned, but I held my own.

"Oh no, thank you. You are the one getting punished right now." And with that I took both of his wrists in my hands and pushed them above his head. He smiled in consent, only playing along like he was unable to push me off of him if he wanted to. I reached down and unbuttoned his pants, pulling them down his legs and hearing them land heavily on the floor. I allowed myself to slide into place on his hips, revelling in the feel of his cool silk boxers against my hot core. I experimented by sliding myself up and down his length, watching his eyes roll into the back of his head as I rubbed myself against his boxers. I threw my head back, while ensuring that my skirt still covered the important parts of myself from his view.

"What's your problem?" he asked, as I slapped his hands away as he reached to touch me under my skirt.

"I'm torturing you, can't you see? Get used to it, okay?" I replied, pleasuring myself on his silk-covered cock.

"Oh fuck! Faster, Bella" His hands went to move to my hips, but I repositioned them above his head. His hips began to thrust of their own accord, but I did my best to keep them pinned to the couch as I undulated tirelessly against him loving the feel of my pussy sliding over the silk.

"Do you like me riding you like this? Oh my God, you don't know how good this feels, baby!" I almost screamed, but Edward's hand was quick to cover my mouth.

"I think I do, baby. Oh fuck yes, I can't believe this!"

And one of those hands travelled ever-so-slowly downwards, down to that little nub of flesh that was desperately grinding against him and with one flick of his finger, I was gone. I threw my head back and bit down on the fingers of his hand which he still had over my mouth. My teeth on his skin caused a low-pitched growl to escape him, almost feral in it's tone. His hips thrust up almost violently against my shaking body as his fingers continued to manipulate me as I twisted in pleasure on top of him, our hips grinding together until with a grunt and a smouldering kiss, he came undone underneath me. My body continued to shake as he held me firmly to his chest, raining light kisses on my forehead as I slowly caught my breath.

"You know, every day I realise more and more how much I love you," he whispered, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "For not any girl would allow my devilish sister to convince her to go without her panties," he laughed, his cool breath tickling the hairs on my skin.

"Hmm, not every boy deserves a girlfriend who goes without her panties. But you, my dear, are certainly one of them," I chuckled, before pulling myself up into my original seated position on top of him.

"Wow, did we just have dry sex?" I asked, surveying the mess we had made.

"Yes. And did I just come in my pants?" he replied, an almost concerned look on his face.

"Yes, I think you did. Sorry!" I shrugged, before slipping my hands into the waistband of his boxers and pulling them down his legs.

"Bella Swan, you are something else!" he smiled up at me.

"Something wonderful, I hope," I wrinkled my nose up at him.

"Naturally, my love."

Our lips met and I knew that after everything that had just happened, Edward was always going to be there to make it okay. Forever. Just like he had promised me.

And then my lovely thought reel was interrupted as together we rolled off the couch to engage in some very naughty time-passers that my father was sure to disapprove of.


End file.
